Your flight to Kirkwall takes you to the heart of the Orkneys’ Mainland, with resplendent 12th-century St Magnus Cathedral, hence Kirkwall’s original name Kirkjuvagr, Norse for “Church Bay”. To the south of Kirkwall is Scapa Flow – a safe harbour for Viking and British war fleets alike.
Step back even further into 5,000-year-old Neolithic settlements and stone circles such as Skara Brae, Unstan, Ring of Brodgar and Stones of Stenness, all west of Kirkwall. Mix with friendly Orcadians over a dram of local whisky – the refurbished Scapa distillery and Highland Park, Scotland’s most northerly distillery but only by half a mile!
Away from the crowds, explore the larger Orkney islands in a 20-mile radius, with ferries north to Rousay, Westray, Eday, Sanday, Stronsay and Shapinsay and south to Hoy (of Old Man fame) and South Ronaldsay. See Mainland by hiring a bike, but check wind speeds beforehand!
Orcadians love Orkney Creamery ice-cream, topped with hot fudge sauce. Try smoked Orkney cheeses, mackerel, lobster and crab, washed down with Orkney beer, or Kirkwall-based Orkney Wine Company’s Blairberry Hairst (blueberry), Flooer Swash (elderflower, meadowsweet and gorse) and Honning (honey). |